You have to tell Winston he can’t come. I’ve already invited him. Good luck with that!

May I have six? I have a big table, and happen to be reading a great biography of Van Gough right now.

I’ll play 😊 Jesus, because that’s obvious Eliza Hamilton, because I’ve got a few woman-to-woman questions to ask (I just read Dear Mrs. Hamilton, and highly recommend it.) Winston Churchill, because every dinner party needs a bit of wit My maternal grandmother and grandfather, because they were killed by a selfish drunk driver before I was born, and I’ve always wanted grandparents

Thank you! I just found the more accurate information on Hopkins. The ladies and gentlemen on this board rock! I’ve learned that it’s always best to check here first😊. Thanks for the clarification.

Good luck to your daughter, too! It’s a wild ride😊

Good luck to your daughter this Saturday! I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Be sure to have her take a snack. My son’s biggest problem with the six hour ordeal was that they tested through lunch, and he was ravenously hungry!

Thank you ALL so very much for your detailed and kind replies!! It’s good not to feel so alone in this process. I’ve been teaching a class this afternoon, but I’ll share these responses with my son as soon as I can. I think it will help him, also. He did take the initiative to call CMU this afternoon and speak with an admissions officer. Apparently, although the university usually requires applicants to submit all scores, they are not expecting them this year. I do appreciate that colleges do get how unpredictable the SAT had been in the pandemic! The only other college that I know of that requests all scores is Johns Hopkins. I’m hoping they will have the same view about this year’s scores. We shall see. Thank goodness that most schools let students self-report just the scores that they wish to share!! I can only hope our predicament helps another student. It’s always best to quit while you’re ahead, right??🤣 Thank you all, again, so very much!

My son is aiming for some very selective colleges. He took the SAT last fall (his junior year), and earned a great score. However, he is a unrepentant perfectionist, and was determined to take it again and earn a perfect math score. He had only missed one math question the first time he took the test... So, after many cancelled tests, and much confusion, he managed to take the test for a second time. The whole situation was a hot mess. He was at the school for a total of six hours, masked for the entire test (I 100% think this was a good thing, just worry that it messed with his focus), etc. And...his second SAT score came back 80 points lower than his first! He is sick. Two of his top pick schools ask that he report all SAT scores. I guess he just never dreamed that his score could fall this much. They won’t average these scores, will they? So, does anyone have a been there-done that story to help cheer him this afternoon? Pretty please? He’s ploughing through his school work today, but feeling pretty defeated. He’s just worked so very hard... His essays are strong, he’s worked two computer science internships, has solid AP classes and test scores, and has numerous college math credits in which he earned As...surely this won’t be a nail in the coffin with admissions, right?? I promise I’m acting calmer in front of him than I sound here to you guys 😊 Thanks in advance for any reassurance!

I hope it works for you. I’m really impressed that you were able to find a used combined edition for a good price! Happy reading

My son’s AP US History text last year (class with Pennsylvania Homeschoolers) was America: A Narrative History, by George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shi. I sat down in the backyard swing some time last March and pretty much didn’t move for the rest of the summer because I couldn’t stop reading. It was extremely engaging. Like Spielgovel’s text, it is sprinkled with just a few focus terms and people, and a few discussion questions at the beginning of each chapter. I do also own a copy of American Pageant, and find it readable, but I MUCH prefer Tindall and Shi’s book. In full disclosure, I am of a particularly conservative political bent, so that may factor into my preference... Good luck! Finding a perfect history text is a lot like dating😊. It’s quite a chore! I’m coming back to add that I read the 9th edition. You should be able to find a used copy if you are interested. Newer editions are split into two separate texts.

Thank you so much for this thread! I’m looking for new podcasts as well because even some of my old Christian standbys have turned political, and I just need a break! The death of Ravi Zacharias left a huge hole. I’m glad the Lord called him out of this tough world right now, but I sorely miss his teaching. I can’t wait to check out some of these suggestions!

I have nothing erudite to add. You have received some great feedback here already. I have been watching homeschool programs and graduates for over ten years now. I have seen every approach in the book. I find it reassuring that I have seen very successful and HAPPY graduates from many different homeschools. I am a huge believer in parent involvement being the magic juice in a successful homeschool (or any type of school) outcome. You’ve got that! Your children will do quite well...

I do thank you for this. Just for clarification, I have participated in neither the the Covid nor the civil unrest threads. I won’t apologize for desiring polite discourse. I’m not sure if you meant that as harshly as it sounded. I don’t want to fight, and I apologize if I am coming across more strongly than you deserve. As I said, I’ll save the fight for my lawn. I just happened to be on as you posted...returning to sunshine now. I hope you are having the same beautiful weather as I have here.

So very sorry that you and your son are still having to deal with AP exams! I do hope all goes smoothly and he has a happy score day experience! It’s been a very tough year.

Thank You!!! That was a fun one!

Thanks for the replies. I do want to emphasize that I’m not upset that the chat board has non-homeschool discussions. I, like many of you, am at the end of that journey! I absolutely value all of the differing viewpoints on this board. What I don’t value, however, is all of the recent political vitriol. So it goes. I spent the afternoon fighting with the sprinkler system. I guess I use up all of my fight with my yard, and don’t want to have to expend the energy here! I appreciate your responses.

I appreciate this very much. I am certainly not without blame, myself. I have learned a ton about viewpoints on the other sides of issues over the years, and I love that! My issue is really with the mud-slinging and name calling. I’d like to think this group is better than that.

I miss this board. I miss the group of moms who hunkered down and focused on the task at hand: educating the next generation. Over the years, as both a lurker and a poster, it’s been a place of escape for me. I don’t have a politician that speaks for me at this point. Yes, I have an allegiance to an ideology, but I don’t believe that a politician will ever be my savior. I can find fault with each and every one of them. They are not super humans sent to save the world. Neither am I evil, or stupid, or crazy if I don’t agree with each and every member of this board. Sometimes I just see things differently. I miss the days when that was okay. The in-fighting really ramped up during coronavirus, and seems to have crossed so many lines during this last week of civil unrest. I’m just sad.

I always read threads or participate in discussions about this and really feel like the odd one out! I got my undergraduate degree right after high school, taught a few years and got married at 25, finished grad school and then had a baby at 28. I have always chosen to stay home and homeschool my son, although I have tutored/taught other students through the years. I just really enjoy kids, and I have loved this life. I am fortunate in that we have always been financially set. We have never rolled in money, but we have always had enough to be secure. I know that changes the way I view things. I would most definitely have made different choices in my early dating life. I would love to have been able to have more children and not to have lost my first baby. My life has been far from perfect, but it has been a great ride. I would very much encourage a daughter, if I had one, to follow her heart and stay home with her children if that is what she desired. That time spent with my son couldn’t have been spent any better way, as far as I’m concerned. I do, however, fear that I’m in the minority. I am content to let my degrees collect dust in the upstairs office while I live this life. The only thing I’d do differently in my twenties would be to have more confidence in the decisions I was making, and to trust the Lord that he would take care of the future. I have spent way too much of my life in worry.

Thanks so much for posting this! I think this is the first thing that has led me to laugh out loud in weeks!!

Thank you for updating. Still praying. So very sorry. I’ll pray for wise doctors and nurses.

I might be feeling just a touch of hydrangea envy! That all sounds lovely!

That’s a gorgeous tree! I bet it is a beautiful yard! Its funny you mention this. I’ve actually thought long and hard about this part. I just removed four scraggly boxwoods from under the windows. Yes, they did stay green all winter, but they brought me no joy at all. When the snow fell off our roof, they would squash over on their sides, and over the years, they have grown flattened toward the front. Simply awful! I just decided that everything is ugly in the winter no matter what, unless we have fresh snow. I do, however, have a huge maple tree that is still grand (at least as visual interest) in the winter. It covers most of the front of my house. Hopefully it will distract from the front bed!

Thanks, all! I’m feeling a bit reassured, for sure. I need to double-check the tag on my plants. I just know them by the common name, mophead hydrangeas. I do think those white Annabelle flowers are so classic! I guess if worse comes to worst, I can always move them to my back yard.

This is so reassuring to hear. Thanks for answering!